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Topic: Welcome to FreeBOT (Read 1271 times)

This is my first robot I'm designing in Google Sketchup which is free to download. My aim is to make a free walking / standing robot which can get up if it falls over. It will be controlled via wifi and have around 14-16 servos...

It's going to be a steep learning curve for me but one I hopefully will have something at the end of it.

I'm designing it to be printed out on my 3D printer (Reprap) I built and once I have something half decent I will share all that I have done.. hence 'FreeBOT' :-)

I've spent the last 4 days re-designing as I go.. but I think I'm getting close now withe the feet and legs complete.

Attached are a couple of pictures from sketchup to show you my idea.. comments / advice etc is most welcome :-)

It looks cool. What are you using for material in the 3D printer....and where can I get some? Have you had any success with materials that do not require heat?Or if you do use heat, would you be willing to share the design of the print head.

I've cobbled together enough parts to start building a 3D printer of my own design and SW, but will need to borrow heavily for the print head design.

I too built my own printer using a mismatch of parts / designs based on the mendelmax. I'm using 20mm square aluminium section to bolt it altogether. I think in total it's cost me just over £400.00 This includes everything.

the print head (hot end) I purchased cost me £40. It's called a J-Head and comes with a heat resistor and temprature sensor. It's got a 0.35mm hole. I am running a hotbed also.

I can give you as much info / help as you want regarding this. I print in both ABS and PLA which both require heating.

I am currently setting up http://www.3dbot.co.uk which will have all the info on how to build my bot / designs / software sources etc. The site will be live very soon but I'm currently waiting for my provider to fix a setting in the server.. anyway

Steve,What is purpose of hotbed?...or rather what problems should I anticipate if I don't install one? Besides not being able to remove printed object from support surface, I'm not seeing an obvious need for hot bed.Thanks,Billy

Steve,What is purpose of hotbed?...or rather what problems should I anticipate if I don't install one? Besides not being able to remove printed object from support surface, I'm not seeing an obvious need for hot bed.Thanks,Billy

Plastics shrink when they cool. The hotbed keeps the base of what you're printing warm enough that it doesn't warp/peel off the build surface.